


Just To Get By

by sleepydanceur



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Catboys, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-03-11 21:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3333563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepydanceur/pseuds/sleepydanceur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kitty!AU. “Jongin, you’re burning up,” Kyungsoo sighs reproachfully, eyebrows knitting in concern.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just To Get By

“Woah there,” Kyungsoo warns, catching Jongin by the elbow when he stumbles, making the stacked plates rattle dangerously on the tray he’s carrying. “Are you okay?” 

Setting the load down safely onto the counter, Jongin squeezes his eyes shut, pressing the back of his wrist against his forehead. 

“Headache,” he mutters, swaying a little on the spot where he stands. Frowning, Kyungsoo moves closer, taking in the flush colouring his cheeks as he moves Jongin’s hand aside to feel the skin of his forehead with the back of his own hand. 

“Jongin, you’re burning up,” Kyungsoo sighs reproachfully, eyebrows knitting in concern. He doesn't miss the tremors wracking through his entire body from the chills, nor does he miss the way Jongin’s ears have almost flattened themselves completely against his hair. He notes the way Jongin’s tail is wrapped around his waist, almost like he’s trying to hold himself up and steady.

Biting his lip, Kyungsoo scans the restaurant, gauging how much time he can spare before the number of patrons filing in is too much for the other couple of waiters to handle by themselves. They’re horribly understaffed meaning triple the work for the handful of employees struggling to keep up with their large clientele. 

Making up his mind quickly, he latches onto Jongin’s hand and tugs him into the backroom, sitting him down on a chair before his wobbly legs give out beneath him. Jongin’s eyes are only half open, blinking slowly, heavy with exhaustion that seems to permeate from every muscle in his body. His shivering only grows stronger, and he grips the end of his tail tightly in an attempt to hide the way his hands are shaking. Kyungsoo immediately rifles through his bag to pull out an old bandana, soaking it with cold water in the sink before folding it neatly and presses it to Jongin’s burning forehead. 

“You should go home and rest, I’ll…I’ll deal with the boss, I’m sure he’ll understand–”

“Hyung, look at us,” Jongin whispers, the resigned sadness edging into his voice stabbing sharply at Kyungsoo’s chest. Jongin pointedly raises the tail in his grip before letting his hand drop back down onto his lap weakly. “We’re hybrids. They’d look for any reason to lay us off; we can’t _afford_ it.” 

Kyungsoo curls his tail around his thigh just so Jongin doesn’t see it droop. He’s right of course; they’ll always be downtrodden for being what they are. He shakes himself quickly though. Now’s not the time to feel sorry for himself when there are more important matters to attend to.

“We can’t afford you collapsing and cracking your head on the tiles either,” Kyungsoo retorts, not entirely sure he’s even exaggerating when he can feel the heat from Jongin’s forehead through the wet cloth.

“I’ll last,” Jongin manages a wheezy laugh before dissolving into a coughing fit that has Kyungsoo rushing to get him a glass of water. He sighs after taking a long swig, withering under the skeptical look Kyungsoo gives him. 

“You work too hard,” Kyungsoo chides him, cupping the back of Jongin’s flushed neck to press the wet cloth against his forehead again. “You’re barely taking care of yourself at all with those three jobs you’re trying to juggle- that’s right,” he adds dryly when Jongin stiffens, “don’t think I don’t know about those shifts you picked up at Yixing’s studio too.” 

Jongin gawps at him, chapped lips parting as he tries to look for the right words to say before his shoulders slump and he drops his head.

“I thought we agreed not to take on more than we could handle,” Kyungsoo murmurs, lowering the cloth to push Jongin’s bangs aside with his fingers, trying to tilt his face to look back up at him. Instead, Jongin leans forward and drops his head against Kyungsoo’s chest with a whine, his tail curling weakly around Kyungsoo’s wrist. 

“You need to rest,” he tries again, combing his fingers through Jongin’s hair and rubbing his temples gently as he presses the damp cloth to the back of his neck. 

“I can’t slack off, hyung, it’s too risky,” Jongin says, his voice muffled by Kyungsoo’s chest, “Last month we nearly went without food and we’re just barely holding on to the apartment. I can’t afford to skip a day of work just because I’m a little sick.”

“Your fever is through the roof,” Kyungsoo corrects him, moving to stroke Jongin’s silky brown ears softly, pleased when Jongin melts right into him.

“Regardless,” Jongin huffs, bracing his hands on Kyungsoo’s slim hips to lift himself off. “We need this, you know we do.” 

His eyes are glassy and the fever is burning him up like a furnace, but his jaw is set determinedly. Kyungsoo glances at the clock on the opposite wall, noting grimly that they’ve taken up much more time than he’d planned to spare back here. The restaurant is likely to be chock full of people waiting to be served by now; someone’s bound to notice their absence. As much as he hates the situation, Jongin is right; they _do_ both need this job and the money. 

“Fine,” he says, bending down to press a kiss onto Jongin’s forehead, “but we’re doing it my way.”

Jongin doesn’t question him, simply nodding compliantly as he curls his tail around Kyungsoo’s waist to pull him in between his knees. His ears perk up, ever so slightly, even with the thought of working through another six hours of waiting tables with a burning fever weighing down on him. Kyungsoo cups his flushed cheeks, planting a kiss right in between Jongin’s eyebrows before stepping back.

“Come on,” he encourages, pulling Jongin to his feet by the wrist. “Time to work.”

Doing it Kyungsoo’s way means making sure he’s there to take the heavy trays from Jongin’s hands to deliver them to the right tables himself whenever he can spare his hands. Jongin smiles at him gratefully each time, swaying dizzily every now and then before he pulls himself together to take another table’s order. 

The scattered minutes they can spare before the kitchen calls them up for the food are the moments Kyungsoo seizes to drag Jongin into the backroom again. He cools his forehead down with the damp cloth again, peppering Jongin’s face with soothing kisses to take his mind off the chills making every muscle and joint in his body ache. 

He whispers encouraging words in his ears each time they wait by the kitchen door for their next order to be done, keeping a reassuring hand settled on the small of Jongin’s back as their tails tangle together loosely. The hours seem to drag on no matter how hard Kyungsoo wills the minutes away till they can finally go home and rest. Trying to cover Jongin’s workload in addition to his own is taking way more out of him than he’d thought it would. 

Eventually, the place begins to empty out as the hour reaches one in the morning. The number of people begins to dwindle until all that’s left to do is clean the place up. By the time they’re done with everything and step out into the night chill, Kyungsoo’s just about ready to collapse. Jongin looks much the same, shoulders hunched in protection against the icy wind as he burrows his face into his scarf. 

Buttoning up his coat, Kyungsoo shoves his hands in his pockets and circles Jongin’s waist with his tail, pulling him close to tuck him into his side as they walk along the sidewalk.

“So I asked Jongdae if he could cover your shift tomorrow and he’s cool with it,” Kyungsoo starts; “you’ll just have to fill in for him sometime next week.”

Jongin shifts next to him, pulling his hand out of his own pocket to fit it snugly in Kyungsoo’s coat pocket, lacing their fingers together and squeezing. 

“Thanks, hyung,” he breathes gratefully, nuzzling Kyungsoo’s cheek before kissing him once, twice on his temple.

**Author's Note:**

> Just something small to help get me out of a rut...yet again orz.Also self-indulgent b/c kitty kaisoo.
> 
>  
> 
> [I'm](http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5ak37TRTe1qkjb5ro3_250.gif) [so](http://media.tumblr.com/59d7f4743f7eb58bd0ddc0dd23a34be6/tumblr_inline_n29ie31gHH1srohpj.gif)


End file.
